Sam Blizzard, second from right, of South Glens Falls, gets hugs from teammates after she scored a game-tying goal against Holy Names in the first half. Blizzard added another goal in the second half. (Lori Van Buren/Times Union less

Sam Blizzard, second from right, of South Glens Falls, gets hugs from teammates after she scored a game-tying goal against Holy Names in the first half. Blizzard added another goal in the second half. (Lori Van ... more

Photo: LORI VAN BUREN

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JIllian Beatty, left of Burnt Hills, and Makala Gatta of Scotia-Glenville battle for the ball during the Class A girls? soccer semifinal game. Beatty, a freshman, broke a scoreless tie with a goal in the first half and Burnt Hill made it enough by shutting out Scotia. (Lori Van Buren/Times Union less

JIllian Beatty, left of Burnt Hills, and Makala Gatta of Scotia-Glenville battle for the ball during the Class A girls? soccer semifinal game. Beatty, a freshman, broke a scoreless tie with a goal in the first ... more

From right, Jessica Lyden, of Burnt Hills, and Makala Gatta, of Scotia-Glenville, battle for the ball during the Class A girls' soccer semifinals in Stillwater, NY on November 3, 2009. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union) High School Sports less

From right, Jessica Lyden, of Burnt Hills, and Makala Gatta, of Scotia-Glenville, battle for the ball during the Class A girls' soccer semifinals in Stillwater, NY on November 3, 2009. (Lori Van Buren / Times ... more

The South Glens Falls soccer team celebrates after defeating Holy Names in the Class A girls' soccer semifinals. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

The South Glens Falls soccer team celebrates after defeating Holy Names in the Class A girls' soccer semifinals. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Photo: LORI VAN BUREN

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Ashley Abrams of South Glens Falls inbounds the ball during the Class A girls' soccer semifinal game against Holy Names. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Ashley Abrams of South Glens Falls inbounds the ball during the Class A girls' soccer semifinal game against Holy Names. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Photo: LORI VAN BUREN

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Burnt Hills wins shutout

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STILLWATER — Even with a roster full of players who have advanced beyond sectional play in recent years, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake coach Brian Bold doesn't take it for granted that his girls' soccer team will get there again.

The Spartans, though, took another step in that direction Tuesday with a 1-0 victory over Scotia-Glenville in a Section II Class A semifinal-round contest here.

They advance to Friday's 5 p.m. sectional championship game against South Glens Falls, a 3-1 winner over Holy Names in Tuesday's other semifinal also played at Stillwater High School.

Bold's team advanced to the state tournament's regional final last season (losing there on penalty kicks), to the state semifinal round two years ago and to the state event's championship game the year before that.

"Always a bridesmaid, and never a bride," said Bold about state-level play.

Could that change this year?

"You can't take it for granted that we'll get there," he added. "You just cannot look beyond your next game."

That's surely a solid philosophy because the next game for the Class A top-seeded Spartans (11-4-3 overall) is against a strong No. 2 seed in 15-1-1 South Glens Falls, which exhibited an impressive ball-control style in its victory.

Burnt Hills, though, was similarly adept at ball control in its win Tuesday and tossed in a good dose of physical play as well.

While experience is definitely important, it was the Burnt Hills' youngest starter, freshman Jillian Beatty, who accounted for the game's only score in the Spartans' victory.

Beatty emerged from a crowd in front of the net to get her foot on teammate Emily Capron's pass from the sideline and drilled a shot past Scotia goalie Kylah Rodd with 6:19 left in the first half.

"It feels good to get that goal," said Beatty. "I'm proud to help us get a win and help our seniors continue to advance."

After that, the Spartans' pressure enabled them to keep control, and the few attacks that the Bulldogs mounted in the second half were stymied by spectacular saves by Burnt Hills goalie Emily McNutt.

Just because Beatty is her team's youngest player doesn't mean she is inexperienced. She was a starter for the Spartans' varsity last season as an eighth-grader. Her goal Tuesday was her team-high 10th of the year. "That she's a freshman doesn't mean anything," said Bold. "... She gives you everything she has when she's out there."

South Glens Falls needed to rally from an early 1-0 deficit in its contest, but grabbed the game's momentum with a game-tying goal by its top scorer, Sam Blizzard, with a minute left in the first half.

After that the Bulldogs were in full control, controlling the ball for the majority of the second half, grabbing its first lead at the 29:46 mark on Blizzard's second score of the contest, a left-footer from about 10 yards out. The goal was her 20th of the season. Ellie LaRue added an insurance score for the winners from about 15 yards out with 12:52 left in the contest.

Holy Names got its goal and its early lead four minutes into the contest when junior striker Shelby Wood scored from the left side with a high, hard kick that found the right-hand corner of the net.

That goal held up until the final minute of the half before the Bulldogs' Blizzard scored.

"We fought hard, but you really could see the momentum shift when they tied it up," said Holy Names' first-year coach Jennifer Smith. "To get a goal right at the end of the half and to go into the locker room on that ... it gave them a big lift."